Facebook tests ‘Reactions,’ a Like button with more emotions

How you “like” things on Facebook is about to change. Engadget has learned that the site is about to launch a “Reactions” feature that expresses multiple emotions, instead of the long-serving, lonely “like” (and long rumoured “dislike“). Our sources advise that Facebook will start testing the feature on users in Ireland and Spain as soon as tomorrow (Friday).

The change is just another way to express your feelings about what friends or family post, but a welcome one, given that not everything shared on the social network is appropriate for a “like”. This means even life’s less glossy moments can finally have a more suitable response. Good old like remains, of course, but along with icons that show love, laughter, cheeky smiles, shock anger and, well, we’re sure there’ll be an extensive/ever growing list of options. The ability to “react” with gifs and or emoji has become increasingly common with social platforms and news sites (like Buzzfeed), and in some cases, it’s the only way to communicate — so it’s not surprising Facebook is joining in.

The new reactions will apply to user posts and those from “pages” alike, with a breakdown of which responses each missive received. Although in Ad Manager, all reactions will still be considered as a “like” for now. There are no details about when this might start showing up in other regions, but Facebook is well known for testing new features on smaller sections of its audience before rolling them out wholesale.